RIYADH: Joudi Al-Ahmadi and Lena Al-Shanafey have won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarships for Saudi Arabia this year. The duo will head to the University of Oxford in the UK in October next year to undertake post-graduate studies, joining a cohort of more than a hundred other scholars from around t»»»

HONG KONG: China is willing to pursue stronger ties with Iran, China's ​special envoy to the Middle East Zhai Jun said in talks with Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Zhai met Kani in Iran, according to ‌a readout ‌from China's foreign ministry ​on ‌Mon»»»

PARIS: French ‌far-right leader Marine Le Pen and hard-left rival Jean-Luc Melenchon consolidated their lead in voting intention ahead of next year’s presidential election, a poll showed on Monday, as political polarization in the country intensifies. Le Pen would top the first-round vote with betw»»»

Muscat: The 2025 energy sector indicators for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, released by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-STAT), show that global demand for GCC crude oil grew at an average annual rate of 3.1% over the period »»»

By Staff, Agencies “Israel’s” former military chief Gadi Eisenkot started the tough task of forming a government on Sunday, reaching out to Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies as he said the veteran prime minister had brought the entity to a historic crisis. Eisenkot, 66, the leader of the “Yashar” party, »»»

Meta, TikTok and Snap warn the bill could give regulators too much power over content Google has warned that Australia's proposed online safety legislation could force it to introduce age checks and potentially block users under 18 from Gmail, messaging services and private file storage. Rachel Lor»»»

Syria is preparing to send fighters to Saudi Arabia to deploy along its border and potentially help it fight Iranian-backed rebels in neighboring Yemen, three officials with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. Syrian military advisers have already deployed to Saudi Arabia, but no figh»»»

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran even if it was not "necessarily popular" to safeguard the world from the country's nuclear ambitions. He would not comment directly about the Republican wipeout in Tuesday's elections, which deliver»»»

Romania will eliminate the minimum turnover tax on companies starting January 1, 2027, as ...»»»

Banks face new potential fines following the sanctions imposed in the ROBOR case, as part of a separate investigation into the exchange of information used to determine FICO scores and assess credit applicants. The Competition Council suspects a breach of law and expects to conclude the inquiry wit»»»

Raiffeisen Bank Romania recorded a net profit of 1.26 billion lei in the first nine months of this year, a period during which it also reported a 35% increase in new clients compared to the same period last year, the bank announced in a press ...»»»

Romania's insurance market grew 15% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, reaching 14.2 billion lei, while assets managed by the private pension system totalled 246.2 billion lei, according to Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) President Alexandru ...»»»

Romania's central bank is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged for several more quarters, potentially setting a European record for an extended period of monetary policy stability, according to National Bank of Romania (BNR) Deputy Governor Cosmin ...»»»

Three in ten Romanians intend to take out both compulsory and optional home insurance over the next year, according to a sociological survey conducted by IRES at the request of the National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies of Romania ...»»»

Mandatory private pension funds registered assets worth 236.8 billion lei at the end of September 2026, up 29% compared with the level recorded on the same date last year, according to the report of the Financial Supervisory Authority ...»»»

Voluntary pension funds had assets worth 8.75 billion lei at the end of September, an increase of 30% compared with the level recorded on the same date a year earlier, according to a report by the Financial Supervisory Authority ...»»»

Savings and investment accounts designed to accumulate additional income for retirement will be available starting January 1, 2027, and the Financial Supervisory Authority (ASF) is tasked with drafting the implementing regulations, stated Gabriela Horga?chair of the Senate's Committee on Budget, Fi»»»

Bucharest residents and people in Transylvania pay the highest average prices for homes and take out the largest mortgage loans in Romania, according to an analysis by Ipotecare.ro based on 25,336 loan applications processed nationwide between January and September 2026.The average value of a prope»»»

ANTALYA: The world is entering a new reality where climate extremes are the norm, the United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned Monday, urging leaders at the COP31 climate conference in Turkiye to “get serious.” “A supersized El Nino is colliding with a planet already superheated by manmade clim»»»

UAE rejects Iranian control of Hormuz, demands respect for sovereignty and credible action Dubai: Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, has said dialogue with Iran is a strategic necessity rather than a concession, warning that Tehran must rebuild shattered trust through concre»»»

By Mohamad Hammoud The Nuclear Threshold No country has used nuclear weapons in combat since the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Despite decades of wars and confrontations between nuclear powers, the fear of catastrophic consequences has helped preserve that restraint. Now, all»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center organised two lectures for the Malayalam-speaking Muslim community, which were attended by nearly 1,600 people in total. The Center aims to enhance religious knowledge among non-Arabic speakers and to provide programmes tha»»»

Doha, Qatar: In the presence of a group of students from the University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST), the Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zaid Al Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center held a lecture on “The Environment in Islam.” This initiative comes within the framework of the Center’s ongoing cooperat»»»

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states took a new step toward completing the railway interconnection project by signing the project's general agreement in Bahrain on Sunday. This comes as part of efforts to establish an integrated transport network linking the six nations and boosting the»»»

Dubai 24-karat price rises to Dh496.75 a gram, up Dh26.50 in a week, just after Diwali Dubai: Gold climbed on November 9, erasing Friday’s decline, as oil extended its slide and the AI tech stock rout deepened with Nvidia CEO now being probed. Spot gold rose 1.02 per cent to $4,110 an ounce at 11:0»»»

Doha, Qatar: Qatari designer Hissa Al-Khuzaei has expressed pride in showcasing Qatar’s rich cultural heritage on the global sporting stage after being selected to design Formula One driver Pierre Gasly’s helmet for the Mexico City Grand Prix as part of the Qatar, Canada and Mexico 2026 Year of Cul»»»

Doha, Qatar: Vodafone Qatar and AGIBOT have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on embodied AI robotics solutions across the public, enterprise and education sectors in Qatar. The MoU was formally signed by Chief Operating Officer at Vodafone Qatar, Baran Yurdagul, and General»»»

Albania’s two main political parties, the ruling Socialist Party (SP) and the opposition Democratic Party (DP), are expected to hold talks today within the framework of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Electoral Reform, as the country prepares for local elections scheduled for May 9, 2027. Th»»»

Minister of Municipality H E Abdullah bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al Attiyah, met yesterday with Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of Honduras in the State of Qatar, Sophia Escobar Lanza. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation relations, in addition to several topics of mutual interest.»»»

Doha, Qatar: The third edition of Qatar’s international Quran competition, ‘Awwal Al-Awael’, will begin its first stage today, November 9, bringing together 42 contestants representing 19 countries to compete for the title of the best among the best Quran memorisers. Organised by the Ministry of Aw»»»

Retail trade turnover (except for motor vehicles and motorcycles) fell in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, both in gross terms, by 4.6%, and in terms of business day and seasonally adjusted data, by 4.9%, according to figures released on Friday by the National »»»

Romania is taking part for the first time in the China International Import Expo (CIIE), held in Shanghai from November 5 to 10, 2026. Romania is participating in the event's ninth edition with two exhibition pavilions showcasing 15 companies, according to a press release from the Consulate General»»»

Prime Minister Luca Niculescu convened the Interministerial Committee for the Protection of State Interests in Liberty Galati SA and Liberty Tubular Products Galati SA at Victoria Palace on Friday to identify solutions to safeguard jobs and maintain production ...»»»

Romania has received two bids for the construction of an AI Gigafactory, and the selection process is in its final stage, with authorities hoping to be able to announce the outcome by the end of this year, Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare stated on Friday at the Concordia Summit ...»»»

Diversifying energy sources, developing storage capacities, improving transmission and regional interconnections, alongside the Neptun Deep project, are the primary solutions being considered by the Government to reduce the vulnerabilities of the energy system and increase Romania's energy independ»»»

Romania has capital, resources, savings that can be channelled into investment, and access to European funds. However, economic development also requires another kind of capital: trust between the state and the business community, and between institutions and citizens, Prime Minister Luca Niculescu»»»

91% of the state aid granted by Romania went to companies running on Romanian capital, and only 9% went to those with majority foreign capital, Chairman of the Competition Council, Bogdan Chiri?oiu, said on Friday at a specialist event."Yesterday we presented the report. We periodically present the»»»

Property taxation based on market value will not be introduced starting in 2027, instead this measure will be evaluated gradually toward the end of the fiscal consolidation period, when Romania returns to its 3% budget deficit target, Finance Minister Alexandru Nazare announced on Friday while atte»»»

Prime Minister Luca Niculescu stated on Saturday that the Government aims to avoid introducing new taxes or levies in 2027; however, a final decision on this matter will be announced during the drafting of next year's budget, contingent upon budget execution, funds from the National Recovery and Re»»»

Justice Minister Radu Marinescu met Israeli Ambassador to Romania Lior Ben Dor on Friday, stressing the importance of strengthening bilateral judicial cooperation, particularly in handling requests for international judicial assistance in civil and criminal matters, extradition, the transfer of sen»»»

The President of the Constitutional Court, Simina Tanasescu, says that the Constitutional Court's decision to annul the presidential elections in December 2024 was not an isolated case in Europe. She further notes that this ruling drew global attention to the risks posed by digital technologies and»»»

Romania is negotiating with the United States of America the cost of keeping the American soldiers on the territory of the country during a period when the war is getting closer to the country’s coast. Which are the advantages and which are the ...»»»

Romania's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Cornel Feruta was appointed on 3 November as Adviser on UN Reforms to the President of the UN General Assembly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) announced.In this capacity, ...»»»

Romania must prepare an ambitious and creative national plan for the next EU budget period, 2028-2034, addressing social challenges and changes in the labour market, European Commission Executive Vice-President Roxana Minzatu said during a meeting with Labour Minister Petre Florin Manole on Friday,»»»

By Staff, Agencies Seven people have been killed and 110 injured in a violent train collision in Egypt that hurled several passenger carriages off the tracks. The crash occurred on Sunday in the Al-Ayyat district of Giza province, south of Cairo, when one passenger train slammed into the rear of an»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Critics of Vladimir Zelensky's end up at secret torture sites, which Ukraine uses as an instrument of reprisal, a source in the resistance movement in Odessa told Sputnik. "It's a case of 'one hand washes the other' - those who disagree with Zelensky's regime and critics of Ukrai»»»

Variable weather is expected this week, with precipitation arriving in several waves. Peak temperatures at the start of the week are forecast to range between 5 and 13 degrees Celsius, before a warming trend begins — on Friday, up to 21 degrees is possible in the southern part of the country, and n»»»

Doha, Qatar: The University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) announces that six of its academics have been recognised in the 2026 World’s Top 2% Scientists List, published by Stanford University Professor John P. A. Ioannidis in collaboration with Elsevier, highlighting their research cont»»»

Doha, Qatar: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has honoured 87 private educational services centres for their contributions to the “Ataa Yasna Atharan” (Giving Makes an Impact) initiative, which provided free and discounted educational and rehabilitation services to around 2,900 studen»»»

HONG KONG: China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, met with Ali Bagheri Kani, Deputy Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and affirmed China’s desire to strengthen bilateral relations and that the escalating conflict in the Middle East cannot be resolved by force. This»»»